Vacuum cleaning device



C. W. STEWART. VACUUM CLEANING DEVICE.

APPLICATlON FILED uov. 20. 191B.

1 ,323,925, Patented Dec. 2, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

witness c a C. W. STEWART.

VACUUM CLEANING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 20. 19l8.

1 23,925, Patented Dec. 2, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

lmwwtoz Gilifiteurart,

CLAUDE STEWART, OF MARTINSBUBG, WEST VIRGINIA.

VACUUM CLEANING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

?atented Dec. 2, 1919.

Application filed November 20, 1918. Serial No. 263,387.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLAUDE W. S'rnWART, a citizen of the United States, residlng at Martinsburg, in the county of Berkeley and State of West Virginia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Vacuum Oleaning Devices, of which the following is a impulse turbine members in opposed relation on the brush, whereby the brush is efliciently rotated by the forcible drawing of a r into the device, and this without the assistance of extraneous brush rotating means and while balancing or causing the brush to fioat so that the rapid rotation thereof is not attended by'end thrust of appreciable friction.

Another object of the invention is toso" construct and relatively arrange the parts of the improvement that the brush and the turbine members may be expeditiously and easily removed from the brush casing and as readily replaced therein.

Other objects and practical advantages of the invention will be fully understood from the following description and claims, when the same are read in connection with the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical section of so much of a vacuum cleaning device as is necessary to illustrate the best practical embodiment of my invention that I have as yet devised.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken through the brushcasing of the device in a plane at right angles to Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view showing the brush casing and the brush and its appurtenances therein.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged broken view showing the brush shaft and stationary members and the rotary impulse members of my improvement.

Fig. 5 1s an end elevation of the brush casing showing one of the gates that are preferably, though not necessarily, em loyed at the outer ends of the turbine cylinders.

Flg. 6 is a perspective of a vacuum cleandevice embodying my invention and showing the general appearance of the device.

Fig. 7 is a section at right angles to Fig. 2.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts'in all of the views of the drawings.

I would have it understood that it is within the scope of my invention as defined in certain of my appended claims to employ one turbine in combination with the suction-creating means and the brush to be rotated by the suction. Experiment has dem onstrated, however, that better practical re sults are attained by the employment of two turbines in the said combination, and I, therefore, prefer to employ twoturbines, though I do not restrict myself to the same.

The casing 1 may be of the construction shown or of any other construction compatible with its purpose, and it incloses a suction fan 2 which may be and preferably is driven by an electric motor 3 in the ordinary well known manner.

In carrying out my invention two, turbines 5 for utilizing the suction created by the fan to rotate the brush, and. this without the assistance of extraneous means and the objections incident to the employment of such means.

I employ a rotary brush 4:, and one or more, preferably The brush shaft is numbered fiy-aii'd the turbines 5, respectively, comprise outer stationary members 7 which receive and permit of free rotation of the brush shaft, and inner impulse members 8, which are fixed to the shaft and by the rotation of which the shaft is rotated about its axis.

By reference to the drawings it will be observed that the oblique channels 9- in the impulse members 8 of the turbines are reversely' arranged, and the same is true of the oblique channels 10 in the outer stationary turbine members 7. By virtue'of this it will be manifest that the brush as the unit will be balanced or caused to float in operation, and, consequently, end thrust and friction incidental to the rotation of the brush will be practically eliminated, as will any tendency of the impulse member's. 8 to cutor wear the cylinders 11 in which themembers 7 and 8 are disposed. The said cylinders 11 may be secured in the casing 1 in any approved manner without involving departure from the scope of my appended claims. I prefer, however, to introduce the cylinders endwise into the end walls of the casing l, and I also prefer to employ cotters 12 for the removable fixture of the casings 11 and the turbine members 7 in the casing 1 and against rotation. I- also prefer to make the brush 4 of such diameter that subsequently to the removal of one cotter 12, the brush, together with the members 7 and 8 of one turbine and the member 8 of the other turbine may be drawn endwise through one of the cylinders for repair purposes or for any other purpose.

When deemed expedient or desirable, gates 13 may be employed complementary to the outer ends of the cylinders 11 with a view to controlling the volume of air let into the cylinders for the, operation of the turbines and the rotation of the brush.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that during the operation of the vacuum cleaning device equipped with my improvement, the equal pressure exerted at the ends of the brush will balance or cause the same to float and, in consequence, will practically eliminate end thrust and friction. It will also be apparent that the impulses of the air drawn forcibly through the channels of the outer turbine members and against the walls of the reversely arranged channels in the inner or impulse turbine members will powerfullly rotate the brush and in that way contribute materially to the efficiency of the vacuum cleaning device as a whole.

An important practical advantage peculiar to my improvement resides in the fact that there is absolutely no tendency of hair, fiber or other material picked up by the brush to wind about the rotary portionof my improvement. This is due to the fact that the impulse turbine members being arranged innermost or adjacent to the surface to be cleaned, andthe further fact that said rotary members are interposed between said surface and the stationary turbine members, thereby efiectually preventing anything that tends to wind from reaching the stationary members. Again, it will be appreciated that the air drawn forcibly through the stationary turbine members and the impulse turbine members, in turn, Will]. have the positive effect of preventing anything that has a tendency to Wind from lodging on or adjacent to the impulse turbine members. From this it follows that there will be no tendency whatever for-any foreign substance to collect between the stationary turbine members which afford the bearings and the brush shaft and hence no liability of the rotation of the brush shaft being interfered with by foreign substance.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1s:-

1. The combination of a casing, a suction fan therein, cylinder housings carried by the casing with their inner ends in communication with the fan and their outer ends adapted to receive atmospheric air, a rotary brush located between said housings and having a shaft, outer turbine members held against rotation in said housings, and inner impulse turbine members fixed to the shaft and opposed in the housings to the outer members.

2'. Tl'fl combination of a casing, a suction fan therein, housing cylinders secured in the casing with their inner ends in communication with the fan and their outer ends adapted for connection with the atmosphere, a rotary brush located between the cylinders and having a shaft disposed in said cylinders, outer stationary turbine members held against rotation in the cylinders and affording bearings for the shafts and having oblique channels,,and inner impulse turbine members fixed on the shaft and arranged in the cylinders in opposition to the outer members and having reversely arranged oblique air channels whereby the brush is balanced.

3. The combination of a casing, a rotary brush disposed in the casing and having a shaft, a cylinder removably arranged in the casing, a stationary turbine member removably arranged in the cylinder and affording a bearing for the shaft, an impulse turbine member fixed on the shaft and opposed to the stationary member, and a cotter removably arranged in registered apertures in the casing, the cylinder and the stationary turbine member.

4. The combination in a vacuum cleaning device, of a casing, a suction fan therein, cylindrical housings carried by the casing with their inner ends in communication with the fan and their outer ends open to the atmosphere, gates complementary to the outer ends of the cylinders, a rotary brush located between the housings and having a shaft, stationary turbine members receiving and affording bearings for the shaft and disposed in the housings, and impulse turbine members fixed on the shaft and opposed to the inner sides of the stationary members.

5. The combination of a casing, a rotary brush therein, housings carried by the easing and having outer ends in communication with the atmosphere, turbines disposed in the said housings and comprising stationary members and opposed members fixed to the brush shaft at the inner sides of the stationary members, and suctioncreating means in the casing and in communication with the inner portions of the housings and the rotary turbine members. a

6. The combination of a casing, suctioncreating means therein, alined housings carried in the casing with their inner ends in communication with the suction-creating means and their outer ends in communication with the atmosphere, a rotary brush disposed in the casing and located between the housings and having a shaft, stationary turbine members forming bearings for the shaft and disposed in the housings and ha\-' ing oblique air channels, and inner impulse turbine members fixed upon the shaft in op- 10 position to the stationary turbine members and having oblique air channels.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

CLAUDE W. STEWART. 

